The Secret Game
by Mysterious Masked Man
Summary: Several weeks after their triumphant return to Arendelle, the sisters realize that an event from their past could have a major effect on their future together... (Elsanna, mature content to come)
1. Chapter 1

**The Secret Game, Part 1**

Elsa's sleep was troubled.

In the weeks since her return to Arendelle and taking her rightful place as queen, the young woman had found herself struggling with the burden of ruler-ship. True, her younger sister Anna had been a great help, but the fact of the matter was that neither of them were exactly suited to run a country. They had only been children when their parents had died, too young to really understand the concepts of governing a nation, and having such responsibility thrust upon them had been a startling shock. More times than Elsa could count, she'd tried to return full authority to the royal council members who'd ruled Arendelle in the years between her parents' death and her coronation, but the law was quite clear:

The council would only rule in the absence of a member of the royal family, or in the place of a royal who had not yet come of age.

Dreams of her parents plagued her sleep, or, rather, what little sleep she could find. In them, the former king and queen of Arendelle tried to pass on their knowledge and experience, but Elsa couldn't understand their words, for they were soft and distant, as if being spoken over a great distance. She cried and begged them to speak up, to come back and help her, but her emotional pleas apparently fell on deaf ears, and her parents simply continued on with their repetitive, incomprehensible message, night after night after night.

A soft sound stirred Elsa from her restless slumber, and she sat up slowly, squinting her eyes to try and see better in the darkness. The door to her room was open, but only for a moment, as the dim light from the hallway was soon swallowed up by darkness again as the door was quietly closed. Barely perceivable in the shadowy gloom, a familiar figure made its way quietly toward the queen's bed, and as it neared, Elsa could make out the slender form of her sister more clearly.

"Anna, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

The auburn-haired princess sat lightly on the edge of her sister's bed, her troubled expression evident even in the darkness. She held her hands in her lap, wringing them nervously, and her blue eyes were clouded with uncertainty. Elsa reached out and took Anna's hands in her own, still marveling at how she could perform such a simple act now without having to worry about harming anyone. Anna's love and trust had taught her so much in such a short amount of time, and she shivered at the thought of how close she'd come to living alone high up in the mountains, in her tower of ice.

When Anna finally spoke, her voice trembled slightly, and Elsa felt her heart twist at the thought that her sister was in some sort of trouble.

"I… It's Kristoff." Before Elsa could interrupt, Anna shook her head and quickly went on. "He's fine, it's not that. It's just… Have you ever thought you were in love with someone, then after the initial excitement wears you realized that maybe you weren't?"

Elsa's brow furrowed. "You don't love him anymore?" she asked slowly.

"I don't know… I don't think so. Honestly, I'm not sure I ever did." Anna sighed and gently pulled her hands away from Elsa and stood up, pacing absently back and forth at the bedside. "Don't get me wrong, he is _so_ great. I mean he's nice, and polite, and everything. But I don't love him. He's a good friend, and I hope he always will be, but that's all."

Elsa just nodded silently. She wasn't really sure what to say, or what Anna _expected_ her to say. In fact, she wasn't entirely certain that the younger woman was expecting her to say _anything_; rather, Elsa thought that maybe her sister just needed to get all of this off her chest, and was just hoping for someone to vent to. So instead of saying something that might just make things worse, Elsa was content to listen.

Suddenly Anna was back, sitting on the bed beside her, her own brow furrowed in an expression that was probably the mirror image of Elsa's own.

"We kissed, you know," Anna said, chewing her lip. "But I didn't really feel anything, you know? I mean, shouldn't I have felt _something_? Anything?" Heaving a sigh, the princess fell backward to sprawl across the bed perpendicular to Elsa. She lay there that way for a few moments while the queen tried to think up something to say, but before she could respond to her sister's words at all, Anna sat back up. "It's not like I've never felt something from a kiss before, you know."

Elsa blinked at that, her mouth opening and closing silently, unable to come up with anything to say. Anna's clear, blue eyes were locked on the queen's own, the younger woman's expression unreadable. Reaching up, Elsa started to play absently with a lock of her snow-white hair, fidgeting a little. She knew exactly what Anna was talking about, but she was surprised to hear her sister bring it up after all this time.

"Elsa," Anna said softly, reaching out to take her sister's hands in her own. "Can we play the Secret Game again?"

The queen gasped, her eyes widening as her mind drifted back across the years like a snowflake on the wind…

_**To be continued…**_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Secret Game, Part 2**

_Many long years earlier…_

Elsa blinked slowly awake as the familiar weight of her little sister plopped down on top of her. Groaning and rubbing her eyes, the ivory-haired girl sat up, lightly shoving Anna off of her. Honestly, Elsa couldn't remember the last time she'd slept all the way through the night, and by the lack of light streaming through the curtains, night it was. Still, there was something comforting about her sister's warm presence, and in the certainty that—like clockwork—Anna could always be relied on to follow the same routine.

"Annaaaaaa," Elsa whined, making a face. "It's the middle of the night. Again! Go back to bed." With that, the older girl lay back down and buried her face in her pillow, heaving a sigh.

"I'm not sleepy, Elsa," Anna replied, crawling back on top of her sister and bouncing a little. "I'm booooored. Please don't go back to sleep, I'll be lonely." Even though Elsa's face was still buried against her pillow, Anna put on her best puppy dog eyes and waited. When her big sister risked a peek at her, she sighed and sat up again, eliciting a grin of triumph from Anna. "Can we play a game or something?"

"I don't know," Elsa responded, laying back down and shifting over to make more room for her sister. "Just give me a few minutes to wake all the way up. Come here." Pulling the blankets aside, Elsa opened her arms for her sister, and once Anna smiled and snuggled close, down came the blankets again.

Silence settled over the room, Elsa still sleepy and Anna too cozy and content to push the subject of a game anymore. As always, Elsa felt her stomach flutter a bit at her little sister's closeness, her warmth, and the way she seemed to sigh softly as she snuggled closer. The older girl's arms wrapped gently around Anna, holding her close; she swallowed hard, biting her lip as a thought came to mind.

Suddenly, Elsa found herself wanting to play a game as well.

"Hey Anna, I thought of a game we can play, if you want to…"

The mention of a game caused the younger sister to perk up, blue eyes alight with anticipation. "What kind of game?" she asked, only Elsa's arms around her keeping her from hopping up and bouncing around again. "Hide and Seek? Oh, no wait! How about Twenty Questions! Or no, maybe—"

Elsa laughed softly, shaking her head. "No, it's a different game. A _new_ game. But we have to keep it a secret from everyone, okay? It's not a game that kids are supposed to play…"

"So… it's a secret game?" Anna asked, tilting her head curiously. When Elsa nodded, Anna beamed brightly, nodding as well. "Okay, let's play! What do I have to do, Elsa?"

"All you have to do is close your eyes, okay?" When Anna did so, Elsa licked her lips a little self-consciously, then took a deep breath and leaned in, kissing the younger girl softly. She could feel Anna tense a bit at first, and then relax; pulling away, Elsa asked quietly, "Do you want to keep playing, Anna?"

Anna's silent nod was the only response that Elsa needed, and the two girls spent the rest of the night in innocent, curious exploration before finally drifting off to sleep in each others' arms. The next day passed much like any other day, though the sisters shared secret glances and giggles all throughout, much to their parents' none-the-wiser amusement. Little did they know, though, that that would be their last day together for many years to come.

The next morning, Anna once again roused her sister from bed at the break of dawn, wanting to build a snowman…

* * *

Elsa shook her head a bit to clear it, her thoughts fleeing instinctively from the memories of her years-long isolation.

"Elsa?" Anna asked softly, watching her sister curiously. "Did I lose you for a minute there?" She still held Elsa's hands in her own, and the queen was suddenly keenly aware of the way Anna's thumbs were lightly caressing the backs of her hands. "I said something wrong, didn't I?" The auburn-haired woman chewed her lip nervously dropping her eyes.

"Anna…" Elsa's mouth suddenly felt very dry, and Anna's hands felt very, very warm, and soft, and…

_And perfect_…

"Anna," Elsa said again, freeing one of her hands from her sister's and reaching up to lightly brush her fingertips along the younger woman's cheek. Anna's eyes lifted, meeting Elsa's, a spark of hope lighting them up beautifully and melting away the last of her older sister's misgivings. Rather than answering verbally, Elsa leaned forward, catching Anna's lips in a tender kiss that caused both of their hearts to skip a beat. As Anna eagerly returned the kiss, Elsa shifted to drape her arms around her sister's neck, pulling herself closer and moaning hungrily, the sound lost against Anna's lips.

The game was on.

_**To be continued…**_


End file.
